#12: SEO Code of Ethics

Good Evening

I feel it is essential to have a code of ethics when being given the control over someone's business. Whereas all parties are working towards presenting relevant and high quality information in an easy to use format to information seekers, and whereas Lee johnson is being contracted to assist clients in obtaining higher rankings for client pages, I (and those linking to this page) are voluntarily adhering to the below Code of Ethics:

I will do no harm to a client - Lee Johnson will not intentionally do harm to a client. This involves the continued use of any technology or procedure (without appropriate care) that is known to result in having the client site removed from search engine indexes or directories, or rendered inoperative. Questionable adherence to standards must be addressed via the Robots Exclusion Standard.

I wont break search engine rules - Lee Johnson will not intentionally violate any specifically published and enforced rules of search engines or directories. Should rules and guidelines change (as they often do), Lee Johnson will promptly take action to comply with the changes as they apply to all clients. Where rules and guidelines are unclear, Lee Johnson will seek clarification and await approval from the appropriate search engine before continuing to utilise potentially harmful technology or procedures.

Mislead, harm, or offend a consumer - Lee Johnson will not intentionally mislead, harm, or offend a consumer. All individuals utilising a search engine to visit a site will not be misled by the information presented to or by the search engine, or harmed or offended upon arrival at the client site. This includes techniques like "bait and switch" where the client page does not substantially contain and is not clearly associated with the optimised phrase, or may be reasonably offensive to targeted visitors.

Intentionally violate any laws - Lee Johnson will not intentionally violate any laws. This involves the deliberate and continued violation of copyright, trademark, service-mark, or laws related to spamming as they may exist at the state, federal, or international level.

Falsely represent the content of the client site - Lee Johnson will not falsely represent the content of the client site. This includes the practice of presenting different versions of web pages to different users except where that information is altered solely to meet browser specifications and needs, sensitivity to regional factors such as language, or product specific needs. In general, ALL requests for a specific URL should be served identical HTML by the web server.

Misrepresent their own abilities - Lee Johnson will not misrepresent their own abilities, education, training, standards of performance, certifications, trade group affiliations, technical inventory, or experiences to others . This includes quantifiable statements related to project timetables, performance history, company resources (staff, equipment, and proprietary products), and client lists. Guarantees will be restricted to items over which the SEO staff has significant and reasonable control.

Participate in a conflict of interest - Lee Johnson will not participate in a conflict of interest without prior notice to all parties involved. This includes the practice of choosing to emphasise one client over another in competing keywords because there is more personal gain for the staff. All clients are treated equally and all will receive equal best effort in their search engine optimisation.

Unreasonable client expectations - Lee Johnson will not set unreasonable client expectations. This includes the practice of accepting more than a reasonable number of clients competing for the same keywords and implying that all will be in the top positions in the search engines. This also includes the implication that results can be obtained in an unreasonable amount of time given the known condition of the search engines, client site, and competition.

Offer dispute resolution procedures - Lee Johnson will offer his clients both internal and external dispute resolution procedures. This includes the publishing of address and phone numbers on primary web pages, the inclusion of third-party dispute resolution links prominently placed within the staff website, and contracts that include sections discussing dispute resolution.

Protect confidentiality - Lee Johnson will protect the confidentiality and anonymity of his clients with regards to privileged information and items implying testimonial support for the SEO staff. Lee Johnson will be bound to protect information that is not generally known as it may harm the client. Lee Johnson will not include the publishing of testimonials and proprietary logos of client lists, press releases, and other collateral discussing the client without explicit approvals."

In Conclusion

As you can see the client comes first and always will. I want to empower you so you can learn from the knowledge set I have gained over the 13 years I have been within the industry. you care in safe hands with me.

I have 88 post's to go, from my target of writing 100 articles in 365 days !